Searching Vehicles Without a Warrant

Searching vehicles without a warrant (see sections 31 & 32 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000)

A police officer may without warrant:

(i) stop a vehicle;

(ii) detain a vehicle and the occupants of the vehicle; and

(iii) search a vehicle and anything in it for anything relevant to the circumstances for which the vehicle and its occupants are detained;

if the police officer reasonably suspects that the vehicle may have in it something that:

(i) may be a weapon or explosive a person may not lawfully possess, or other thing that the person is prohibited from possessing under a domestic violence order or an interstate domestic violence order;

(ii) may be an antique firearm that a person possesses and the person is not a fit and proper person to possess the firearm because:

(a) of the person's mental and physical fitness;

(b) a domestic violence order has been made against the person; or

(c) the person has been found guilty of an offence involving the use, carriage, discharge or possession of a weapon; or

(iii) may be an unlawful dangerous drug;

(iv) may be stolen property;

(v) may be unlawfully obtained property;

(vi) may have been used, is being used, is intended to be used, or is primarily designed for use, as an implement of housebreaking, for unlawfully using or stealing a vehicle, or for the administration of a dangerous drug;

(vii) may be evidence of the commission of an offence against any of the following:

(a) the Racing Act 2002;

(b) the Corrective Services Act 2006, s. 128 (Taking prohibited thing into corrective services facility or giving prohibited thing to prisoner); s. 129 (Removing things from corrective services facility) and s. 132 (Interviewing and photographing prisoner etc); or

(c) the Nature Conservation Act 1992;

(viii) may have been used, is being used, or is intended to be used, to commit an offence that may threaten the security or management of a prison or the security of a prisoner;

(ix) may be tainted property;

(x) may be evidence of the commission of a seven year imprisonment offence you reasonably suspect may be concealed or destroyed;

(xi) may be evidence of the commission of an offence against the Criminal Code, section 469 (Wilful damage) that may be concealed on the person or destroyed if, in the circumstances of the offence, the offence is not a seven year imprisonment offence;

(xii) may be evidence of the commission of an offence against the Summary Offences Act 2005, section 17, 23B & 23C (e.g. possession of a graffiti instrument, selling spray paint to a minor); or

(xiii) may be something the person intends to use to cause harm to himself, herself or someone else.

A police officer may also stop, detain and search a vehicle and anything in it if the police officer reasonably suspects:

(i) the vehicle is being used unlawfully; or

(ii) a person in the vehicle may be arrested without warrant under s. 365: 'Arrest without warrant' of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000, or under a warrant under the Corrective Services Act 2006.
If the driver or a passenger in the vehicle is arrested for an offence involving something the police officer may search for under this part without a warrant, a police officer may also detain the vehicle and anyone in it and search the vehicle and anything in it.

If it is impracticable to search for a thing that may be concealed in the vehicle at the place where the vehicle is stopped, the police officer may take the vehicle to a place with appropriate facilities for searching the vehicle and search the vehicle at that place.

The police officer may seize all or part of a thing:

(i) that may provide evidence of the commission of an offence;

(ii) that the person intends to use to cause harm to himself, herself or someone else; or

(iii) that is an antique firearm and the person is not a fit and proper person to be in possession of the firearm because:

(a) of the person's mental and physical fitness;

(b) a domestic violence order has been made against the person; or

(c) the person has been found guilty of an offence involving the use, carriage, discharge or possession of a weapon.

A police officer may also enter the vehicle, stay in it and re-enter it as often as necessary to remove from it anything seized.

Conduct of a vehicle search (see section 627 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000)
Before deciding to take the vehicle to a place with appropriate facilities for searching it, a police officer must consider whether searching a vehicle somewhere else would be more effective because of the nature and size of a thing sought that may be concealed in the vehicle.

If a police officer decides to take a vehicle to a place with appropriate facilities for searching it, the police officer must, if the person apparently in possession of the vehicle is known and present:

(i) tell the person where the vehicle is to be taken; and

(ii) ask the person if he or she wants to be present during the search.

If a police officer searches an unattended vehicle or anything in it the police officer must leave a notice in a conspicuous place in or on the vehicle stating:

(i) that the vehicle or a stated thing in or on it has been searched;

(ii) the police officer's name, rank and station; and

(iii) that a record of the search may be obtained from any police station.

After searching an unattended vehicle or anything in it, the police officer must ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the vehicle is left secured at least to the same extent as it was before the search.

Obstruction of a search (see section 628 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000)

If a person (the obstructing person) obstructs a police officer conducting a lawful search of a vehicle, a police officer must, if reasonably practicable:

(i) warn the obstructing person it is an offence to obstruct a police officer in the performance of the police officer’s duties; and

(ii) give the obstructing person a reasonable opportunity to stop obstructing the search.

Examples of when it may not be reasonably practicable for a police officer to comply with points (i) and (ii) above include:

(i) there is an immediate or sudden need to use force because, for example, the person is struggling with a police officer; or

(ii) there is a reasonable expectation that, if warned, the person may immediately dispose of, or destroy, evidence; or

(iii) an immediate search is necessary to protect the safety of any person